Martain byron elmer



(No Model.) y l M. B. ELMER.

BOX LOOP.

Nro. 460,527. Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. V

MARTAIN BYRON ELMER, OF SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF 'IO J. PHILIP BECK, OF SAME PLACE.

BOX-LOOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,527, dated September 29, 1891. Application led February 26, 1891. Serial No. 382,968. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, MARTAIN BYRON ELMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Saginaw, (East Side,) in the county of Saginaw and State 0f Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Box-Loops and Buckle Securing Devices; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable 1o others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadvto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

r 5 This invention relates to improvements in devices for securing buckles and box-loops to carriage-tops and in other places of a like nature; and the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of the several the device, as I shall presently proceed to eX- plain, and which will be specifically pointed out. in the claim of this specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a means for securing buckles and box-loops to carriage-tops which can be easily and quickly applied and secured to the top and which will retain the loop and buckle securely in position and also be easily removed and replaced for repairs without cutting the lining or otherwise mutilating the parts of the top.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which the same letters of reference will be found indicating the same parts throughout the several views.

Figure l represents a longitudinal section of my improved devices as attached to a carriage-top. Fig. 2 shows the fastening devices detached. Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of 4o the device as attached to a carriage-top and carrying one buckle only. Fig. 4t 1s a blank for composing the loop and arranged for receiving a covering of leather. Fig. 5 shows the loop provided with the leather cover and ready to be affixed to the carriage-top.

a represents a metal blank which is designed to forni a box-loop having a leather covering', and this blank is arranged with a middle portion b, which, when the blank is bent to the desired contour, will form the upper surface of the loop, while the portions c parts which are used in the construction of upon the lateral sides of the portion b will form the lateral sides of the box-loop, while the outer portions d will-form the under side of the loop. The portions d are provided with 5 5 a series of triangular openings e, and the portions removed from the openings e are turned at a right angle with the plate and are arranged With their edges adhering to the lateral edges of the portions c, forming spursf 6o and g, the'spurs g being of a greater length than the spurs f.

Then the plate is arranged with the spurs as described, a piece of leather covering 71, is laid upon the plate and the spurs are pushed through the leather, and the spurs f are turned down upon the leather, which secures the leather in place, and the plate is then bent to the form of a'boX-loop, (shown in Fig. 5,) the spurs g remaining extended. 7o.

*is a band or strip of metal, which ata short distance from .one end is provided with a perforation j for the tongue of a buckle, andthe portions It' on the lateral sides of the opening j is bent up, while at a proper distance from the openingj, corresponding to the length of the box-loop, is arranged a perforation Zfor the tongue of a buckle, and the strip of metal is here turned upwardly and then turned back upon itself, forming a loop b', inclosing 8o the cross-bar m of a buckle n in the bend, while the buckle-tongue 0 protrudes through the opening Z and the portion p of the strip then reaches beneath the upper portion q thereof and is arranged with its end r extend- 8 5 ing beyond the end .s of the portion q, and the end r is preferably cut away on its lateral sides, so as to form a centrally-located narrow tongue. The metal strip being thus arranged, the upper portion q thereof is passed through 9o the box-loop, with the spurs g projecting downwardly on each side of the portion p. The buckle t is then placed in position with its cross-bar u resting in the bend 7c and with the tongue e projecting through the perforation j. The fastening is now ready to be secured to the carriage-top, and for this purpose slits w are made in the leather or outside covering of the top in the desired position and of a distance between equal to the space roo between the inner side of the ba-rm'of the buckle fn and the outer side of the bar u of the buckle t, and the end o* of the metal strip is then passed through one slit w and between the lining y and the covering and then through the other slit at, leaving the end projecting above the covering. The spurs g are then pressed through the covering a: and bent over beneath the lining. A metal clip a of a suitable dimension is then passed over the ends o' and s and against the raised part k, and the ends o and s are then turned backward and over the clip a and closed firmly thereon, and the buckles and boX-loop are then firmly secured in position.

Should it become necessary for any reason to remove the boxdoop or a buckle, the ends fr and s are first straightened and the clip removed, and the points g can then be raised by a knife or other means, and the part p is then withdrawn from the slit,which frees the fastening, so that it may be repaired and replaced or renewed, as desired.

As shown in Fig. 3,the device may be used, if desired, for attaching one buckle only with the box-loop,and in that case the perforation j and the bend 7a can be omitted, and the clip would then be pushed to place against the end .of the loop and the ends -r and s bent over, as before stated, or the other buckle n can be omitted, as desired, the parts operating in the same manner as before stated.

It will be noticed that an exceedingly strong and durable fastening for buckles and boxloops is provided which can be easily removed and renewed without cutting the lining of the carriage-top, (the spurs g, being thin, can be easily bent Without mutilating the lining,) which advantage is very great, as with the common forms of fastenings for box-loops the lining of expensive tops are often ruined in repairing the buckle-fastenings.

It will be understood, of course, that while I have shown and described the spurs g as forming a portion of the fastening the spurs can be omitted, if more convenient, and the fastening will be equally eicient, as theseY spurs are only designed to retain the loop closely upon the covering to improve the appearance of the work; and I wish it also understood that the metal clip a can be omitted, and the ends r and s bent over each other form a strong means of securing the parts together. IIowever,I prefer the clip,when convenient, as an additional means of security for the fastening.

Having now fully described the construction and operation of my improvement, I claim Vas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, as follows:

As an improved article of manufacture, a box-loop and buckle securing device consisting of a box-loop, a strip of metal bent in its middle portion upon itself and havingits upper portion q passed through the box-loop and with itsend extending beyond the loop and provided with an openingjand with the upward-bent portions lc on the sides of the opening, and having a buckle with its tongue passed through the opening and with its cross-bar resting in the said portion la and having the portion p of the strip extending beneath the box-loop and with its end reaching beyond the said buckle, and a clip a" for retaining the ends of the strips together, sub stantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

M. BYRON ELMER. lVitnesses:

Guo. P. THOMAS, Jas. E. THOMAS. 

